Along with personal reasons, Hogan wrote in a New York Times op-ed that “the stakes are too high for me to risk being part of another multicar pileup that could potentially help Mr. Trump recapture the nomination.”
The Hill’s Max Greenwood reported on what Republicans are saying about the implications of a crowded GOP primary here.
Several 2024 hopefuls have criticized Trump and sought to distinguish themselves from him, but few have been as longstanding or unabashed in their critiques as Hogan.
Hogan said in an interview for CBS News’s “Face the Nation” that while he’s trying to stop “Trumpism,” he’s “really trying to return to real Republicanism.” He said he wants a big-tent party and a return to the principles of fiscal responsibility, “peace through strength and a stronger military presence” and standing up to violent crime.
Hogan also discussed “truth-telling”: “The people that were spouting election lies and that were saying that nothing happened on January 6th or that the pandemic was fake … they all lost” in the last election, he said.
Others who may carry strong counter-Trump messages into the primary include:
Gov. Chris Sununu (N.H.)
Sununu is considering a bid and doesn’t think Trump will be the GOP nominee, though Sununu said he’ll support whoever the nominee is.
He said on NBC News’s “Meet the Press” this weekend that his mission is “making this party bigger.”
“Republicans cannot win without independents. … So, if we just stay in this ultra-conservative, extreme lane — which is a very small part of the party, by the way … — I get it, that’s where the headlines are going to be.” But people are looking for those who deliver results, Sununu said.
Sununu told Politico’s Lisa Kashinsky last month that while he’s more moderate than some Republicans on social issues, he’s among the most conservative on fiscal issues, personal freedoms, Second Amendment rights and regulatory reform.
When NBC News’s Chuck Todd asked Sununu about those who say a pro-choice candidate can’t win the GOP nomination, Sununu said, “I don’t worry about it too much because we have a 24-week rule in New Hampshire. It’s pretty much where most of America is.”
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.)
Cheney said in August she was considering a presidential run, but she hasn’t made overt moves since. She recently announced she’ll serve as a professor at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
Cheney said in September, “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure he [Trump] is not the nominee. And if he is the nominee, I won’t be a Republican.” Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans to support Trump’s second impeachment, and one of two to serve on the select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 riot. She lost last year’s primary to Trump-backed Harriet Hageman.
Cheney’s PAC, The Great Task, says it “is focused on reverence for the rule of law, respect for our Constitution, and a recognition that all citizens have a responsibility to put their duty to the country above partisanship.”
A note on No Labels: Hogan is a national co-chair of the group No Labels, which says it’s creating “an ‘insurance plan’ that would allow a Unity ticket to run in 2024 if the two parties select unreasonably divisive presidential nominees.”
When asked by CBS News’s Robert Costa if he was considering running as an independent or third-party candidate in 2024, Hogan said, “Certainly not something that we’re contemplating at this point in time.”
Hogan said he doesn’t intend to endorse in the GOP primary any time soon. He also reiterated that he thinks current and former governors have good training for the presidency. Hogan said he agrees with Sununu on lots of things and that former Vice President Mike Pence, also a former governor, is qualified.
